


Beat You To It

by genericamerican



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Parental Roy Mustang, References to Suicide, Roy loves his kids, and his team, it's not mentioned outright although it is implied, only one reference though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23939137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genericamerican/pseuds/genericamerican
Summary: At the end of the Promised Day, Edward prepares to make his final transmutation to get Alphonse back . . . . but Mustang gets there first.
Relationships: Roy Mustang & Alphonse Elric, Roy Mustang & Edward Elric, Roy Mustang & Team Mustang
Comments: 7
Kudos: 72





	Beat You To It

"What? What happened? Did we win?"

"Yes, sir. However, Alphonse has not yet returned from the other side."

 _Alphonse_. Thanks to Hawkeye's whispered narrations, he had a decent idea of what happened. Edward's automail had broken, while the Dwarf in the Flask/Father/God/whatever he wanted to call himself had started towards Fullmetal, apparently intent on making him part of a Stone. He had heard panicked yelling from Al. . . . . followed by a silence, then murmurs he couldn't make out, even with his recently heightened hearing. The shuffle of feet towards Ed, pained noises coming from where Ed should be, the sound of a dagger hitting stone, pleading that tore at his soul- pleading from Ed, "No, don't! Al! STOP!" , the crackle of alchemy- and the collective gasp of people around him, with Hawkeye quick to tell him "Edward has his arm back! His real arm!" 

There was a moment of joy, quickly followed by a feeling of dread. _Edward has his arm back-which means Alphonse gave back his soul._

The familiar sound of Fullmetal beating the crap out of an arrogant bastard- Fullmetal, alive and kicking, not dead, and almost whole- was an ironic counterpoint to his thoughts. Alphonse was gone. He couldn't be gone. _He was just a hollow suit of armor with a soul bound to it, something that shouldn't exist._ No. Alphonse should exist. He should be here next to Ed, kicking this stupid Dwarf in the Flask right where it hurt. He should be here. He was not a inhuman, hollow suit of armor, he was his ch- his chi- his **son** , and so was Ed, and they should be _here_ , alive and well.

There was silence, and then cheering. "He won! We've won!" Mustang turned toward Hawkeye next to him- _as if he was going to be able to see her face_ \- and she said, with a note of optimisim, "I think they're right, I think we've-"

A shockwave of pressure sent him stumbling backwards to land on his back. Hawkeye helped him stand up, despite a strong, hot wind coming from about where Ed was. "Ed's fine, sir. He went straight past him, towards Greed. He . . . reached into Greed's stomach for his Philospher's Stone."

There was the sounds of a scuffle, and a crackling noise- then a sound like air being let out of tires, then pathetic pleading from the Dwarf in the Flask, and then there was somehow the opposite sound, like air being sucked _into_ a tire.

And now, silence again. Which led to his current question. 

"What? What happened? Did we win?"

"Yes, sir. However, Alphonse has not yet returned from the other side."

Mei was crying, apologizing, and Ed told her not to worry- it was Al's decision. Ling offered to pay the toll with a philosopher's stone. Hoenheim offered to pay the toll with his life. _Now, there's an idea._ Roy stiffened. He heard Hawkeye's clothes rustle- presumably as she turned her head towards him. He hadn't quite realized that, once he heard that Al was gone, a part of him had immediately started dredging up everything he had ever heard about human transmutation. _You can't._ He had to, though. Had to get Alphonse back. Ed was talking, now. "And why should you need to put your life on the line?!" _Because I care_. "Because I'm his father." Hoenheim. And he was right. Hoenheim was their father. . . not him. But . . . he still cared. Too damn much, but he cared, more than he ever cared about being Fuhrer, more than he ever thought he would care about a short, irate teenager and his calm, but stubborn brother. He had to do something, now, because he wasn't sure how much longer he could last when it felt like his heart was being torn down the center. The taste of salt suddenly filled his mouth, and Roy realized that he was crying. _At least these useless eyes are good for something._ He tried to take a step toward Edward and tripped on the uneven, cracked ground. Hawkeye helped him up- again. There was a metallic clang, and then the sound of something scratching against stone. "Edward's drawing a transmutation circle, sir." Her breath hitched. "A human transmutation circle."

"I'll be right back." _No. You can't . . . . not you, too!_ Somehow, he didn't trip this time as he left Hawkeye's side and ran towards Ed's voice. "This is the Fullmetal Alchemist's final transmutation." _No, it won't be._ He reached Edward before he heard a clap and, not knowing how big the circle was, decked him as hard as he could away from the center of the circle. 

"Mustang! What the hell are you doing?" 

He paused. The sun was warm on his face and hands, and he took a second to appreciate it, before he clapped his hands together and placed them on the ground. The crackle of alchemy replaced Hawkeye's gasp, Ed's protests, and the reactions of the Briggs soldiers around him.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this at 1 am after finishing FMAB anime and crying. I hope it's not too sappy. I do have a little more written, and some more ideas. Please tell me what you think!


End file.
